The writer, Lewis Lovhaug, is a fantastic reviewer and you can pretty much guarantee he knows more about comics than you do. He's an expert on them, simple as that, and this isn't his first excursion into the world of writing. So, as you may guess, I was looking forward to reading the first two issues.
Well now that I've read both and I can sum them up in two words:- Decidedly average. Not bad, not brilliant. Just average.
I don't know what I was expecting, as much I wanted to be amazed at how awesome it could have been I was always a little uneasy with the preview pages. They were all bland and minimalist, in both art and scripting but I acknowledged that with each issue being 23 pages long some corners would have to be cut. Otherwise that sort of length is just too much work.
The first thing I'm going to do is point out the art. When your going for a minimalist look you need a clean style that makes an impact and this has one.
Personally I'd like a little more to the backgrounds, there is a bit in there already but it's so little you can't help but reckon it's trying to make a point. Drawing attention to itself more than subtle statement background art really should.
I would also like something a bit more abstract or artistic. There's not quite enough to make it feel real. So make a statement with the art instead , making it leap out of the pile. There are more than a few hints that the artist knows what he's doing with shading and light, if they would just use it a bit more.
Both of these are personal points and aren't necessary important to the enjoyment of the comics, but I'd still like a little more substance behind the pencil work.
The difficulty, I'm sorry to say, is the writing. Well first the story is obviously inspired by both V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight Strikes Again. There are other examples. but those two should give you the right impression. If you're not familiar with them think Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four meets comic book characters. We've seen it all before, right down to the average man on the street joining up with the heroes and learning all about them.
Now an exceptional writer can take this sort of fairly bland premise and make it interesting. In all fairness there is quite bit left to the story so there is more than enough time to that. My problem here is in that 23 pages per issue I mentioned earlier.
That means we're 46 pages in and there is nothing I couldn't figure out or deduce from the 8 preview pages. Yes the characters are a little more than the usual two dimensional fare and little bits 'n' pieces have the taint of interesting ideas, but nothing grabs you like it should. A few nice moments come from a handful of in jokes and references scattered across the work, but they are few and far between and are almost there in spite of the story.
The biggest problem though comes in the second issue and it is one I've come across in my own work. Size of cast. A small, tightly knit, cast of characters gives you more time to explore and flesh each one of them out. That means more empathy from the reader. Here we have a massive cast that just appears out of nowhere. Each one's look inspired by other, main stream, heroes. Where did they come from? Who are they? Do any of them have special powers? These are questions that are just going to get in the way of developing the people we should care about. In a self contained story the less characters the better. Supporting roles follow the same rule, less is often more.
Another thing is it's a little too preachy. A good story needs a moral, a lesson to teach. It gives the story direction, a heart and can hold it all together, but that's not what a story's all about. It's also about people. People we care about, people we are made to care about. Here we have a message, but we're sort of missing the caring about people side of things.
So, the first two issues don't live up to their potential. With luck, and my faith in the writer, it may pick up and there are hints of something bigger on the horizon, but for now leave it be. Don't get me wrong it's not bad, I don't regret buying it... I would just like to enjoy it a little more. Maybe that will come in future issues and I'll be getting them as well, mostly to support the writer and independent comics in general.
If you want to support the writer and his work, have a look at his blog:- http://atopfourthwall.blogspot.com/
PS His Web-Comic, Lightbringer, is however much better. Give it a read
No comments:
Post a Comment